


Dancing with the Devil (continued)

by BleepBleepSheep



Category: Samurai Jack (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-11-03 13:39:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10968366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleepBleepSheep/pseuds/BleepBleepSheep
Summary: Sometimes good by itself cannot defeat darkness. And sometimes it is necessary to fight evil with evil in order to save the world. Jack discovers this and more in his tenuous alliance with Aku.





	1. 20 (edited)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of Dancing with the Devil over on FF.net. I lost my password a long time ago, but you can find the first 19 chapters here. 
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1650737/1/Dancing-with-the-Devil

Jack released a great sigh, unaware he had been holding his breath.

The world gradually returned to him in a series of mild discomforts. The annoyance of sunlight glaring off of snow and cold numbing his face. He blinked rapidly to dispel the haze settled over his mind like a layer of dust. It felt as if he had been disturbed from a nap. The same groggy confusion assailed him. He fumbled for a moment in order to remember when and where he was and who had been talking to.

The samurai realized he still clasped Aku’s hand. He released it like it burned. 

“I told you not to lose yourself, samurai,” the demon rasped. He looked exhausted, but kept hold on his human illusion. “You will need to reassert yourself since you allowed the memories such vividness.”

“I wanted them to be vivid.”

“So it seems.” Aku actually looked embarrassed. “You were a fool to prod so deeply. Even my hold that far back is…questionable.”

Jack studied Aku’s face and tried to divine if there were any slivers of humanity left. But he saw none.

“So…you were human.”

“Only a piece, samurai,“ the demon corrected. "I am beyond that now.”

They stared at each other. Jack finally hummed a note of acknowledgement and turned back to the snowy archway. The silence was deafening. Not eerie, but empty. No one had been to this place in a long time. He continued the trek upwards toward the mountain’s summit. His footsteps crunched through the snow, but they were the only footsteps. Aku didn’t follow. Jack turned as the demon sank silently into the snow.

“We must keep moving.”

Aku only shook his head.

Jack sighed, but walked back down the path. “We do not have time for this.”

“Go, samurai. I will catch up.”

He opened his mouth to retort, but spotted the tremors in Aku’s hands. Something he had only seen when people suffered a great shock or pain. He bent down on one knee so they were eye to eye.

“Look.” He pointed towards the summit. “It is so close.”

Aku grunted and hung his head. “I am going to be kindling before I get there.”

Jack sighed irritably and looked out over the Gale range. Sharp mist-shrouded peaks jutted all around them, piercing the clouds like arrowheads. It had stopped snowing some time before they had linked their thoughts. Sunlight shattered on snowdrifts, dazzling to look at. The air was so dry and clear he could see for miles. He glanced back at Aku, but the demon chose not to reciprocate.

“I wonder what it would have been to live here?”

To his credit, Aku didn’t startle when Jack’s voice suddenly intruded upon his thoughts. The wizard turned to regard his foe with suspicion, his jade eyes less bleached against the stark backdrop of snow. He released a small noncommittal grunt and stared blankly at the snow. 

“That is a foolish question,” he finally grated out. “It does not matter.”

“You like it here,” Jack murmured and smiled when he received a venomous glare at his presumption.

“Ugh, you are such a fool.” 

“And you are a liar.”

Without another word, the samurai guided Aku’s arm over his shoulder and hauled him to his feet. The wizard groaned and the tremors in his body were equal parts exhaustion and pain.

“Focus on the next step,” Jack said. “Clear everyone else from your mind but that.”

His hand grasped Aku’s waist and pulled them snug together. The demon leaned on him. Watched him from the corner of his eye.

Eventually he said, “You still deny my prophecy?”

Jack glanced at him, then quickly away. “Focus, Aku.”

Aku grunted his displeasure, but didn’t speak of it again. They climbed the mountain’s slope slowly and in relative silence.


	2. 20 (original)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited version

Jack released a great sigh, unaware he had been holding his breath.

The world gradually returned to him in a series of mild revelations and discomforts. The annoyance of the sun glaring off of snow hurt his eyes, the nip of cold on his face, and the silver birdsong that rang out from the woods around them. He blinked rapidly to dispel the groggy haze settled over his mind in a thin layer; he felt as if he had been disturbed from a nap. The same cantankerous impatience assailed him accompanied by the sensation of being bleary and disoriented until he had to fumble with his own thoughts in order to remember when and where he was and who had been talking to.

The samurai realized he still clasped Aku’s hand.

“I told you not to lose yourself, samurai,” the demon murmured, voice threadbare. He looked completely exhausted and Jack was astonished he had neither collapsed nor lost the precarious hold upon his human illusion. “You will need to reassert yourself since you allowed the memories such vividness.”

“I wanted them to be vivid.”

“Yes…” Aku actually faltered and for one fleeting moment actually looked embarrassed, “I had not intended for you to wander so far.” To Jack’s pleasure his nemesis actually coloured before he composed himself and managed to retain some semblance of dignity as he hastily glanced away. “You were a fool to prod so deeply!” He snarled, resentful. “Even my hold that far back is…questionable.”

Jack snatched a glance around, certain no unwelcome eyes or ears were trained on them. He fixed his eyes upon Aku’s face and found himself even more wary of his nemesis than ever.

Human! He had been a mortal man of flesh and blood once!! It was a truly terrible revelation and Jack felt uncertainty rob him of any concrete plan of action. He hadn’t been expecting something like this, he had never expected anything like this! Despite what lay between himself and his foe he had always considered Aku corrupt and decadent, yet the memory belonged to a simple-minded man. A man who thought in the humble terms of life and had possessed too much naiveté for his own safety.

Jack suddenly grew solemn.

A man much as he had been when first flung into this treacherous future, too trusting in the goodness of other people. He too had been transformed by this disenchantment. 

Oh, souls of his ancestors, his ancient foe had been born from the mind and soul of a man! A man who had been the Forest King! Jack wasn’t certain he wanted to consider what this would mean in his own personal struggle for honour and clarity. He wasn’t even certain he wanted to consider what this would mean in terms of their pursuit of Gaia! Aku had been the Forest King…well what did that mean? What did any of it mean? The memory had been so badly damaged from time that it was difficult to decipher what had been truth, what had been altered from experiences later on, and what had simply been lost altogether and replaced with an entirely different scenario. Memory was unreliable in that respect; easily distorted by what one thought had happened.

“I cannot believe it,” the samurai murmured and gazed blindly at the narrow path over his foe’s shoulder. “I simply cannot believe it.”

The wizard frowned in bewilderment and several seconds passed before his features cleared with understanding. “It is true, samurai. I know you have many questions about what you saw, but I have no answers. That memory was the oldest one I could recall and all that you experienced is all I know.”

Jack frowned in thought and once more Aku was startled by how profoundly this affected his appearance. The samurai’s previous bewilderment had allowed all the subtle wrinkles of age to disappear and for a moment, Jack had been young again. The steely set of his mouth, however, made him old and grim, his face so bereft of kindness as to be cruel. Had Aku still been mortal, still human, he would have found this composure tragically ironic in comparison to what Samurai Jack had first been when they had crossed paths.

But he was not human and so he felt nothing. 

“So…it is true then? You are…a man?” Jack suddenly shed his hardened expression to gaze at his foe with the first true sense of dismay the wizard had witnessed since their journey had begun. “Truly?”

“I was, samurai,” the demon corrected, “I am beyond that now.”

There was an awkward silence after Aku’s blunt reproach and Jack had to stifle the impulse to snap back at his foe, it was good to feel this way: scorned and ridiculed. He was never one to put up with such abuse and if nothing else, would safely erect a wall to cut off this strange symbiosis growing between them. He glared at his nemesis, merely to satisfy the sense of wounded pride if nothing else, and then glanced surreptitiously towards the ancient Roman gates with the sudden realization Dagaz and Deirdre waited inside. Jack felt both relieved and wary, it would allow him some space to think away from Aku’s incessant scheming but on the other hand, neither of the Celts were forthcoming with their own agendas. Especially Dagaz.

The samurai barely deigned to favour his nemesis’ insult with a grunt of acknowledgement before he turned to make his way through the snow laden archway. It was so eerie here, but in a different way than the other Roman fortress. It was a natural eeriness, the inevitable deadness that gradually settles in as dust settles upon the lonely angles of an unused room so that the overwhelming presence of emptiness permeates every stone, brick, and nail. The silence was nearly deafening in this place so profoundly empty of anything alive, of anything human.

The speed which Jack tore his hand away surprised Aku and the demon found himself without any support before he had gathered the strength to continue their trek upwards towards the mountain’s craggy summit. His knees buckled but unlike the night before he fell soundlessly to the ground and it was only the crisp rustle of snow beneath him that betrayed his weakness. He released a strained sigh and turned away from Jack’s back to gaze up at the mist shrouded peak of the mountains, still part of the Gale range. It had stopped snowing some time before they had decided to link their thoughts and as the sun burned away the last of the fog clarity lent the mountainous landscape an unexpected beauty. Strange how such negligible things gained significance once he knew he would never witness them again.

A slanted ebony eye peered over hunched shoulders to regard Aku with an unreadable expression. The demon chose not to reciprocate the glance and instead kept his gaze fixed upon the vast openness that lay before them. The air was so dry and clear he could see for miles all around and just for a moment, it felt as there was no one else in the world besides the four of them within this wild microcosm.

“I wonder what it would have been like to have lived in this fortress with such a view every morning?”

To his credit, Aku didn’t startle when Jack’s voice suddenly intruded upon his reverie. The wizard turned to regard his foe with suspicion and confusion, his jade eyes less bleached against the stark backdrop of snow, but ultimately said nothing in response to such a cryptic question, which wasn’t truly directed towards him. He released a small noncommittal grunt and returned to staring at the mountain range surrounding the peak they traversed and ignored the samurai when he stood beside him, the folds of his clothing teased by the biting wind. 

Finally Jack’s face focused upon his demon foe. “Can things like this move demons as it does humans?” It was said with such unadulterated curiosity Aku had to suppress the impulse to roar at the samurai. How could a mortal man who had battled evil in whatever form it presented itself ask something so utterly naïve and foolish? It was the mystique of Jack, he supposed, the unexplainable contradiction of a warrior who battles demons and spirits on one hand and shares philosophical debates on the other. It irritated Aku he continued to fail in deciphering the samurai’s personality. He was a short-lived mortal, how could his mind possess so many intricate knots?

It took a moment for Aku to realize he was staring.

“What sort of foolish question is that, samurai?” The wizard demanded with increasing aggravation as Jack merely returned his scrutiny, unmoved by question or insult. “Besides,” he growled sulkily, “it does not matter to one such as I the colour of the sky or the shape of mountains. I fail to see why you romanticise them. They are harsh and formidable barriers, that is all. No more.” 

“You like it here,” Jack murmured and smiled when he received a venomous glare at his presumption.

“You are such a fool!” 

“And you are a liar.” The samurai parried neatly and without another word grasped Aku’s hand and hauled him to his feet with one undignified jerk. His foe sputtered with ire and disconcertion, green eyes given the illusion of returned vitality in his temper and for one moment, the samurai stared down at him with sorrow.

A fool and a liar, how utterly fitting it was!


	3. 21 (edited)

The sky cleared as the morning wore on. Sunlight caught on the ruined fortress walls. Shadows filled bowls in the rock that weren’t natural. Wisps of snow glided down the slope, whispered past Jack and Aku’s feet. Jack readjusted his grip on Aku and continued forward. The demon no longer kept up the pretense of walking on his own. He limped like his knees refused to bend, but didn’t complain. The silence told Jack how serious it was.

With each step, the scarf around Aku’s neck loosened. But the sudden rush of cold air caught him off guard. It unraveled like a dead snake and fell to the ground. Jack stopped so he was forced to stop, too. The only sound came from the occasional flutter of their clothes.

Jack supported him with one hand and reached down for the scarf. But before he could touch it, the scarf withered into a papery black strip. It suddenly disintegrated into dust like someone had left a pile of ashes in the snow.

“Do not look so shocked.” Aku watched the dust drift off in the breeze. “It is only a small piece.”

“My finger is small, but I would still miss it.”

“That is not the only small thing you would miss.”

“Wh….” Jack jerked upright, face red. “Did you…?” He turned away, then looked back at Aku. “That is rude and…and it is not small.”

The demon laughed. “Poor samurai.”

“You are trying to distract me.” Jack rubbed his face, which was still red, and composed himself. “If you cannot go further….”

“Bah!” Aku lifted his chin. “Are we in a hurry or are we not?”

Jack’s calloused fingers lightly grazed his jaw and tilted his head so their faces aligned. Lips pressed against Aku’s and dispelled any discomfort from the cold, now unimpeded by any protective demon aura. 

Aku inhaled deeply as he pulled away. “Gods flay your miserable hide, samurai.”

Jack didn’t bat an eye. He took one of Aku’s fists and held it against his chest. “This is but a taste of what you have done to this world.”

“Do not presume to lecture me.”

“It is simply fact. Would you deny it?”

Aku curled his lip, but didn’t answer.

The samurai leaned in until no space remained between them. It took Aku longer to pull away than last time. The effect of each touch felt cumulative. No doubt a byproduct of their connection. He stared at his amputated flesh. Little remained but a dark stain on the snowdrift.

Jack followed the direction of his gaze. “We should go.”

“Yes.” Aku looked at the broken fortress walls. “Let us stop wasting time.”

He squared his shoulders and started up the path. Snow shifted under his feet and he wobbled ever so slightly. Jack wrapped an arm around his shoulders again and helped him forward. Aku leaned on him and fell into step without comment. 

They passed beneath a magnificent frosted arch. The stone cracked from years of thawing and freezing, but it held. Large icicles hung like teeth in an open mouth. Jack looked up at them warily, but the cold had turned the ice into granite. Even in sunlight, the ice didn’t soften. They stepped into a square courtyard littered with broken walls and the last remnants of rotten wood. A pile of stones lay at the center. Birdsong faintly echoed all around them.

Jack tensed as he stepped gingerly onto the packed earth. It felt solid even after so much neglect and weathering. Something resonated here. He couldn’t tell what it was, but it hummed in his body. This place had awareness. And power. 

Dagaz and Deirdre stood by the ruined stones. They watched Jack and Aku hobble inside. Dagaz shook his head and spat into the snow. Deirdre remained motionless, her eyes hidden beneath her helmet.

Aku raised his head like he had scented prey.

“Where are the trees?” Jack stopped near the stones. “Are they inside?”

Dagaz and Dierdre exchanged a look, but it was Deirdre who answered.

“This isn’t a natural thing.” She hesitated a moment and glanced at her husband. “The druids believed trees held special powers. Old tunnels run under our feet. Dug long before the Romans came. That’s where the Forest King died. Something down there seethes over it.”

“We can’t go any further,” Dagaz said abruptly. “The way’s closed to us, but we’ll guard your back.”

“I understand. Thank you both for all of your assistance.” Jack bowed his head.

“The earth has a long memory, lad.” Deirdre clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Do us a favor and don’t die.”

Dagaz looked at Aku longer than was polite, then back at Jack. “You should’ve listened to me. That one will be like a beacon fire down there.”

“I understand.”

Jack approached the square’s center and kept himself between Aku and Dagaz. “How do we enter such a place?” 

Deirdre pursed her lips. “There’s a hidden entrance. Whatever grows down there isn’t forgiving. You’ll need a torch or the hate of that place will eat you up.”

“Here.” Dagaz walked up to a particularly ornate arch. “This is where you need to go.”

A weathered soldier had been carved into the wall. Hard eyes gazed from the past. A thick slab of marble sat at his feet. It looked rosy. Certainly not native to this part of the world. It must have been imported. A testament to the reach of a long dead empire. Everything looked smooth and solid. Jack looked to Dagaz for an explanation, but the Celt stared at Aku. Whatever thoughts he had, he kept to himself. 

Something wasn’t quite right. The stone wasn’t quite stone. Jack knew magic when he saw it. He spoke, if only to break the tension.

“There is a spell here. Should such a thing be disturbed?”

“No need to be breaking anything.” Deirdre pinned her husband with a look. “Dagaz knows the words.”

Aku narrowed his eyes. "Only demons know such things.”

Dagaz snorted. “Aye and such fine help you’ve been.”

The demon scowled, but sagged against Jack instead of arguing. Deirdre put a hand on Dagaz’s shoulder and his body lost some tension. He glared at Aku a moment more, then faced the stone soldier and spoke.

Dagaz had a guttural voice, but the words that emerged from his mouth were like whispers. Like several voices that spoke quietly out of sync. Jack struggled to identify any familiar syllables, but it slipped past him like polluted water. Aku went rigid. Jack looked at him, but his gaze was fixed on Dagaz. His eyes tracked movement. Something Jack couldn’t see. 

The soldier shattered. Jack ducked instinctively and threw up an arm to protect his eyes. Rock tore at his exposed skin. The ground buckled beneath his feet.

Aku’s lips brushed his ear. “I can smell her.”

Something cracked overhead. Jack looked up to see the wall teeter forward. He threw them into a roll and took the brunt of the impact. Something sharp clipped his boot. The ground actually rippled. Cloying grey dust burst into the air. He coughed and covered his mouth. The dust blinded him, but he could feel Aku shift underneath him.

“She has been here.”

Jack blinked rapidly and waved the dust away from his face. "What?”

“I can taste it in the air. Such power….“

He wrenched his eyes away to assess the situation. Rocks and fine debris littered the snow. It looked like a volcano had rained ash down the mountainside. Dagaz and Deirdre remained where they were, but they crouched with their backs against what remained of the wall. It reminded Jack of the position he was in. He stood up and pulled Aku to his feet. The demon leaned on him like a piece of furniture.

"Jack?” Deirdre’s voice was faint.

“Yes. We are here.”

The ruined wall revealed older foundations. A wooden hatch had covered it once, but that had long since rotted away. Only hinges and a rectangular hole remained. Despite the morning’s light, it remained a featureless void. There was no suggestion of any structure. But a presence rose from the earth. Jack swallowed hard and looked away. Both Dagaz and Deirdre came to stand by his side. They all stared into the darkness. 

Aku watched Dagaz. “Those words were given to you.”

Dagaz looked at him for a long time. Without saying a word, the Celt withdrew a golden medallion that had been hidden under the layers of clothing. It shone under the sunlight, the sapphires on its surface glowed as blue as Dagaz’s eyes. Familiar figures were carved into the gold. Their hands raised in despair. 

“She found you,” Aku said. “She caught you in this place.”

“She did.”

Jack sucked in a sharp breath as several things fell into place. “The gods would not let her wander here unchallenged. Unless….”

“…She possessed a human vessel.” Aku tilted his head.

Deirdre sagged and nearly lost her balance. “Your nightmares. You said you couldn’t sleep.”

“Aye,” Dagaz said softly. “I tried to warn you, but it’s done.”

He threw the medallion onto the ground. It shone eerily in the snow. His eyes glowed in sympathy.

“Now she knows.”

Some quality to the air changed. Aku jerked upright like someone had shouted his name. The wind stilled. Jack unsheathed his sword and looked around. Nothing moved. His own breathing sounded muffled.

A jet of light burst from the medallion. It shredded clouds. The sun withered to a grey pinprick. A new kind of cold descended on them. The sky darkened to indigo. Morning turned to dusk.

Jack forced himself to look at Aku. The demon’s eyes reflected the sky, but his expression stayed blank. Dagaz shouted hoarsely and struck the medallion. Light exploded through his hammer, up his arms, and into his body. His skin pulsed like the transparent flesh of a newborn bird. A corona flashed around him. Jack instinctively guarded himself and Aku, but the heat seared his face. Any exposed skin burned. He shut his eyes and involuntary tears streamed down his cheeks.

“What is happening?” Jack shouted over the roar of power.

It suddenly stopped. All of it. Everything fell dark and silent. Jack finally opened his eyes. The sky had no stars. It looked flat and very close to the ground. The weight of it pushed on his shoulders. 

He looked to Aku for an answer, but Aku suddenly doubled over. He trembled as another papery wisp of flesh fell to the ground and disintegrated. The fuhai had nearly finished its work.


	4. 21 (original)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited version

The wizard was suddenly quiet, pinned beneath Jack’s soulful gaze. What was the samurai thinking? Why couldn’t he discover what the samurai was thinking? He was simply a soft little mortal creature hardly worth the effort of manipulating to fulfill his own agenda, yet there was something more to it then that—an infuriating inability for him to fully comprehend his own pawn. It was maddening and intriguing and each sentiment served to bolster the other until Aku found it difficult to even look at his samurai nemesis without the pendulum continually swinging from anger to curiosity. The samurai’s father had been a self-righteous little wretch, but the samurai himself was different, of a harder and more insolent ilk than his sire. Audacity, that’s the word he was looking for. His nemesis possessed an outright audacity and it drove him into a fine rage each time he had to face it. No mortal had ever been so audacious in his presence.

Only the samurai dared his wrath. Only the samurai could— 

The sudden slap of cold against Aku’s face startled him and he jerked his head back in a mixture of indignation and bewilderment. His scarf unravelled with the abruptness of his retreat and hung limply in Jack’s hand, only moved by a teasing breath of wind to fill the ensuing silence with the occasional flutter of clothing. The samurai’s fingers, calloused from years of swordsmanship, lightly grazed his exposed throat and settled under the ridge of his helmet to tilt his head back into a vulnerable alignment with Jack’s face. The press of lips dispelled any discomfort from the cold, now unimpeded by any protective demon aura. 

Aku inhaled deeply as he pulled away, furious at himself for being caught so badly off-guard. “Gods flay your miserable hide, samurai,” he breathed in a low rumble and watched with detachment as every word condensed in the chilly morning air. “Even after all that I have said you still possess the insolence to defy my prophecy?” The demon tightened his hands into wrathful fists, angry at the samurai and himself and their situation in general. 

Jack didn’t bat an eye when he caught Aku’s wrist and with the absent ease of long familiarity he twisted the demon’s arms behind his back and managed to pin his hands against his spine in one smooth, decisive motion. Aku only had the time to look surprised before the space between them vanished and any snide insults he would have made were swallowed up by astonished silence.

The wizard was completely surprised and realized it was the first time he had been in close proximity to any mortal before. From far away they appeared so clumsy and fragile with their flimsy bones and pitiful stature, but now their positions were reversed, and it was he who felt flimsy in comparison to the samurai’s battle-hardened musculature, so unyielding after years of strife and hardship. For one strange moment he felt relaxed this way, utterly boneless, before the familiar anger reasserted itself. 

“How dare you!” 

“Why do you even pretend to be angry at this stage?” Jack asked, amused and genuinely puzzled. “It would seem redundant now, do you not think so?”

“I am angry! I am furious with you!” Aku curled one side of his lip and turned away to regard the fortress before him with stoic contempt. “Stop wasting time, samurai, those Celts hunger for demon blood and I intend to answer their insolence.” He ascended up the path with squared shoulders.

Jack followed, hands hidden within the folds of his sleeves. He reached out when he matched Aku’s pace and clutched the demon’s shoulder. “No,” he said firmly and took the lead, “your arrogance will not get us killed.” The warrior passed beneath the magnificent frosted arch and was greeted by a square courtyard with a pile of stones placed in its centre. Birds sang in the emptiness, echoed oddly in the uninhabited halls of the ancient fortress. Jack shivered as he stepped gingerly onto the packed earth, still solid even after countless ages of neglect. He could sense a presence in here, something unsaid resonated within each stone used to build this place. He couldn’t discern what it was, but he could feel it intimately in his being. An acknowledgement.

Dagaz and Deirdre stood idly by the ruined stones and both looked up to watch them enter the fortress. The big Celt shook his head in disgust and spat into the snow while his wife remained motionless, her tiger eyes unreadable beneath the sharp edge of her helmet. Jack could tell from the silence behind him Aku was wary. “Where are these trees?” He asked and waved his left hand towards the pile of stone. “Surely they are not within this fortress?”

Both Celts shared a significant look and it was Deirdre who answered. “The druids believed trees held special powers. There are folks who tell of a series of tunnels below this fort built before the Romans ever stepped foot here. That’s where the trees are. Underground. Have a care, these are not natural trees. This is where the Forest King was slain and whatever is still down there seethes over it. The earth has a long memory, lad. It’s a dark place down there.” Deidre made a strange little sigh. “Dagaz and I can’t follow ya any further. We’ve shown you the way, but the way’s closed to us. We’ll stay here and guard your back.”

“You shoulda listened to me, li'le warrior,” the hunter rumbled darkly beneath the ghastly skull, “he will attract things down there in that place.” They both appeared disappointed but resigned to Jack’s decision. Something the samurai was grateful for. He nodded his head to them both for their assistance and approached the square’s centre but always kept himself between Aku and Dagaz.

“I thank you both for all your assistance, you have helped me immeasurably.” He bowed his head in gratitude.

“Do us a favour and don’t die,” Deirdre muttered gruffly with forced nonchalance.

“Aye, it would make a good story over a pint,” Dagaz added and swung his hammer over his shoulder. “It would be a shame if you took such a good tellin with you into the afterlife.”

Jack’s scowl gave way to a weary smile. “I will try.” He bowed again but it was wasted upon the two Celts, who swarmed him with caution and good-natured admonitions. “Please,” he pulled away from their unbridled affection, “how do I enter such a place?”

Deirdre pursed her lips, but her eyes had quickened. In her armour she appeared far more dangerous than her husband. “There’s a hidden entrance about. Tis a cursed place, Jack, I won’t lie to ya. It’s damned and dark beneath these stones.” She cast a complex glance at Dagaz. “Light a torch here and the hate of this place will eat ya alive. The Forest King was loved and whatever grows underneath isn’t forgiving.”

“Here,” Dagaz lifted his enormous hammer and walked toward a particularly ornate arch. “Tis here you’ll need to go.” Jack followed his mountainous bulk and squinted into the shady reaches of the fortress. There was a battered soldier carved into the wall. Hard eyes gazed out from the lost centuries, eyes that sized Jack up. At his scornful feet rested a thick slab of marble, rosy and rare. Imported from the balmy Mediterranean basin. A solid remnant of an empire lost to the pages of history. The samurai bent down and examined it for a hidden trigger. There was none. He looked to Dagaz for an explanation, but the big Celt was looking at Aku, features tight and inscrutable. These ruins unnerved him far more then the one they had passed before.

The samurai frowned but continued to examine the small square of marble. The Roman soldier gazed down at him, stony face imperial. There was an eerie knowledge to the carving, something that not quite stone. Jack knew magic when he saw it. He turned to Dagaz and spoke, if only to distract the big Celt’s alarming gaze. “There is a spell here. If this place is cursed, should such a thing be broken?”

“No, there is no need to damage it.” Deirdre muttered. “Dagaz knows the words.” The hunter spared his wife a complex look, but he turned to Jack and nodded.

“Aye, I remember.”

Aku shot the hunter a glance, green eyes narrow. “Only demons know such things.”

“And such fine help you’ve been!” Dagaz shot back. The wizard scowled, but hadn’t the strength for idle prattle. Deirdre put a hand on his arm and the big Celt’s body lost some of its tension, but his eyes burned with malevolence. He and Aku regarded each other for a long time before Dagaz faced the stone soldier and began to speak.

Dagaz had a low, guttural voice, but the words that emerged from his mouth were elusive and deeply unsettling. Jack strained to discern individual meanings, but syllables and vowels thundered past him like a polluted waterfall. He glanced over to see Aku was motionless behind him, gaze intensely green and unblinking. Jack realized he was watching something. Colours—like in their link? The samurai frowned. Despite his experience accessing the demon world was beyond him.

For a moment if felt like the stone wouldn’t yield to Dagaz. Then a teeth-chattering grind shook the ground beneath their feet and the soldier shattered. Jack ducked instinctively and threw up an arm to protect his eyes. Rock pelted his exposed skin and promised to leave welts. A cloying grey dust was thrown up as the wall collapsed and shrouded them in a thick coat of dust. It was impossible to see, but Jack could hear Aku’s breathing. 

“I can smell her.” The demon hissed into his ear. 

Jack blinked rapidly and waved the dust away from his face. “What?”

Aku made an agonized groan and leaned closer. “She’s been here. A long, long time ago…but she has been here.”

“What?” 

“Yes.” The demon was trembling, expression torn between revulsion and pleasure. “She has grown very powerful….”

Jack recalled the chaotic encounter with Gaia; his own and the dizzying recollections of his nemesis. What would it be like to meet the demonic god who made you? He shuddered, but didn’t have an answer. Instead he pulled Aku to his feet and waited for the dust to settle. Dagaz and Deirdre hadn’t moved, but they were crouched with their back to the wall. The snow was littered with rocks and fine debris. It looked like a volcano had sent ash raining down the mountainside. 

“Jack?” Deirdre’s voice was faint.

“Yes. We are here.” The samurai approached the Celts as they struggled to their feet. After Aku’s outburst, he could feel something welling up from the deep, dark hole in front of them. The Roman wall had fallen away to reveal older foundations. A wooden hatch had covered it once, but had long since rotten away. Only a rectangular hole remained. Despite the light, it remained a featureless void. Jack squinted and stepped closer. There was no evidence of stairs. Only a presence rose from the black depths. It went beyond Aku’s at the Roman ruins they had passed earlier. A deep and immortalized malevolence regarded them from the bowels of the earth. Jack swallowed and looked away.

Dagaz stood at his side. It was impossible to know what he was thinking. “So?” He asked after a moment.

“How did you know those words?” Aku asked. His voice was soft and had a visible affect on Dagaz. The big Celt looked at him.

Without speaking he withdrew a golden medallion that had been hidden under the layers of clothing. It shone under the sunlight, the sapphires perched on its surface glowed as blue as Dagaz’s eyes. The sight of it was like a physical blow. Jack gasped and took a step backward. The shape, the colour, the jewels, the despairing figures….

“How?” He demanded. “I saw that in my dream.”

“Gaia found you.” Aku spoke the samurai’s thoughts. “She caught you sneaking into this place.” He eyed the Celt’s helmet and his eyes suddenly widened. “That skull is how she kept you here. She took your face.”

“To use as her avatar,” Jack added softly. Aku shot him an alarmed glance. “You told me she challenged the gods, but if she had a disguise….” His dark eyes met Dagaz’s. “She could do what she wanted without divine interference.”

Deirdre approached them, sword dangling against her thigh. Her bright tiger eyes were blank with astonishment. “I never asked,” she muttered softly, “and you said it was an accident. You said….” Her husband glanced at her, eyes heavy with silent messages. 

“It was,” Dagaz suddenly spoke and threw the medallion to the ground. Its round design shone eerily amongst the snow drifts. He stood still, blue eyes glowing, and suddenly looked at Jack. “I like you. I do. I even tried to warn you…but it’s done.” He pointed at the medallion shining beside his feet. “It’s touched the earth, now. She will come. He’s made sure of it.” He pointed to Aku. 

An ominous shiver ran through the crumbling fortress. Aku’s head jerked up as if someone had called his name. The cold air crackled with an unseen danger. Another tremor rumbled through the ruins, more violently than the last. Jack clutched his katana as a jet of light burst from the medallion to punch through the overcast. It shredded the clouds. The sky became an unearthly purple-black bowl. A new sort of cold descended as the sun withered to a grey pinprick. 

Jack struggled to understand. He tore his eyes away from the column of light and gazed at Aku. The wizard’s eyes reflected the sky’s eerie sheen, his expression blank. There was so much power before him, but he was helpless to use it. One of Gaia’s talismans had more power than he had in his entire being. Jack could see the realization. Jack could feel its weight. Despair crept over them all like the deep purple sky. It felt like time was slowing down.

Dagaz released a hoarse shout and smashed his hammer against the medallion. Instead of breaking, its energies exploded through his weapon, up his arms, and through his body. The sudden heat was blistering. Jack stumbled back, momentarily blinded, and bumped into Aku. The wizard’s body was cool and unyielding against his back. The fuhai’s work was nearly done. Deirdre regarded everything from the opposite side of the clearing. Her golden eyes were nearly perfect circles as her husband was consumed by demonic energy. The magic forced its way beneath his skin, made it glow and pulse like the transparent flesh of a newborn bird. 

“What is happening?” Jack howled over the roar of wind and power. Aku made no reply, deaf to everything but Dagaz’s transformation. His eyes were unblinking, mesmerized. 

And then there was only darkness. The sky above was a charred and starless black. Jack felt it pushing down on his shoulders, sucking the strength from his limbs. An invisible tide washed across the fortress, numbing and pervasive. Jack felt he was drowning. There was no sun, no light, no warmth. The sky was a godless black bowl, emptied of life and light.


	5. 22 (edited)

“What is evil? Is it an abstract beast never troubled by design or limits? Or a carnivorous void defined by darkness, feasting upon the absence of virtue? If evil is a face behind a thousand masks, you will know its eyes and take away its sight before it can fix its gaze again.”

Jack remembered the day his father told him about evil. His voice had rumbled softly in the early morning air, hushed despite the sun on his face and the wind blowing softly across the balcony. The picture of his victory was immortalized on the wall. His eyes were dark and secretive as he gazed at it, as if oblivious to his son.

“Father, is that Aku?”

His father had turned then, looked down at him. His face held sorrow tinged by something else. Knowledge of what might come, perhaps.

“Yes,” he had replied.

Evil. A word so commonly brandished by adults, but never clearly explained. Jack had shivered and looked into his father’s eyes.

“What is evil?” He had asked, frightened by something in the air between them.

“What is evil?” His father repeated, one brow raised. He looked to the painting once again, at his own ferocious expression. His shoulders squared and he spoke to him as if he spoke to an army. “It takes many forms, but you will know it as the emptiness we see in one another.” 

The emptiness….

Dagaz stood still in the clearing. An epicentre of power. His body radiated an oppressive sense of danger. He raised his head and the bone helmet had warped into a full mask: the grinning blue-violet visage of Gaia. Angled eyes pinned Jack to the earth, bright and empty of all expression. 

"So,” Gaia rasped in Dagaz’s voice, “we have all come full circle.” The demon’s eyes fell to Aku, who was doubled over in pain. “My child, my splinter, it will soon end for you, too.” At his grim look, she laughed. “I will not force you to remain aware. We were one being, once. That is how we are meant to exist. It will be painless.”

Jack unsheathed his sword, limbs light and weak. The scrape of steel sounded distant in the close, thick air. He tensed, katana raised in perfect form. He shifted his weight to bolt forward, but Aku’s hand clutched his shoulder.

“No, samurai. We have lost.” At Jack’s incredulous look he scowled and leaned on him for support. His body radiated a chilly deadness, except for a single electric snap that rolled up the samurai’s spine. “You must go down into the darkness.” His eyes slid towards the gaping hole. “Now.”

Deirdre screamed like a maddened animal and lunged forward. Her eyes burned, mouth open, sword raised. With one calm gesture, Gaia hurled her body against a crumbling fort wall. The thud of flesh on stone reverberated in the air followed by a sharp clang. Deirdre’s sword clattered along the ground, its blade reflected a sliver of darkness. She didn’t rise.

Gaia turned around with the boneless grace Jack has always associated with Aku. “You have taken things farther than I expected. I did not think you could be tamed in such a way, Samurai Jack.” Her laughter rolled through the air, each note like a boulder slamming into Jack’s back. “What a clever little creature you are.”

She smiled and looked at Aku. Something unspoken passed between them.

Aku heaved a great sigh, as if he had put upon to do some unsavoury chore, and pushed Jack away. He crossed the space between himself and Gaia with unsteady steps. She watched him with a sly smile, but didn’t hurry the encounter. When he stood at her side, she cocked her head. "You will not be able to conceal your thoughts for much longer.”

The demon laughed and even in his human disguise it rang with malevolence. "Do you think you can undo the work of Aku so easily?” He laughed again, and made a sudden gesture with his right hand. “No, not even you.”

The ground fall out from under Jack’s feet. He yelped as his body was sucked and squeezed and compressed. He looked up in time to see Gaia swell outside her human form. She towered over the fortress ruins, her body radiated dread. Her hand closed around Aku’s tiny form. His laughter abruptly stopped. He met Jack’s gaze before collapsing into a featureless black shape that dissolved into Gaia’s palm.


	6. 22 (original)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited version

“What is evil? Is it an abstract beast never troubled by design or limits? Or a carnivorous void defined by darkness, feasting upon the absence of virtue? If evil is a face behind a thousand masks, you will know its eyes and take away its sight before it can fix its gaze again.”

Jack remembered the day his father told him about evil. His voice had rumbled softly in the early morning air, troubled despite the sun on his face and the wind blowing softly across the balcony. The picture of his victory was immortalized on the wall. His eyes were dark and secretive as he gazed at it, as if oblivious to his son.

“Father, is that Aku?”

His father had turned then, looked down at him with a gladness tinged by darker things—knowledge of what might come, perhaps.

“Yes,” he had replied. “Evil itself.”

Evil. A word so commonly brandished by adults, but never clearly explained. Jack had shivered and looked into his father’s knowing eyes. “What is evil?” He had asked, frightened by something in the air between them.

“What is evil?” His father repeated, one brow raised. He looked to the painting once again, at his own ferocious expression. His shoulders were squared, and he talked as if he were alone. “It is the emptiness in a man’s eyes where light should be.” 

The emptiness where light should be…. 

Dagaz stood still in the clearing, his body radiating an oppressive sense of danger. He raised his head and the bone helmet had warped into a full mask: the grinning blue-violet visage of Gaia. Angled eyes pinned Jack to the earth, bright and burning and empty of all expression. 

“So,” Gaia rasped in Dagaz’s voice, “we have all come full circle.” The demon’s eyes fell to Aku, who was nearly doubled over in pain. “My child, my splinter, it will soon end for you, too.” At his grim look, she laughed. “I will not force you to remain aware. We were one being, once. That is how we are meant to exist. It will be painless.”

Jack unsheathed his sword, limbs light and weak. The scrape of steel echoed tinnily in the close, thick air. He tensed, katana raised in perfect form. He shifted his weight to bolt forward, but Aku’s hand clutched his shoulder.

“No, samurai,” he whispered, “we have lost.” At Jack’s incredulous look he scowled and leaned on him for support. His body radiated a chilly deadness, except for a single electric snap that rolled up the samurai’s spine. “You must go down into the darkness.” His eyes slid towards the gaping hole. “Now.”

Deirdre screamed like a maddened animal and lunged forward. Her eyes burned, mouth open, sword raised—and one calm gesture from Gaia hurled her body against a crumbling fort wall. The thud of flesh on stone reverberated in the air followed by a sharp clang as Deirdre’s sword tumbled aimlessly to the ground. She didn’t rise.

Gaia turned around with the boneless grace Jack has always associated with Aku. “You have taken things farther than I expected.” She sounded deeply amused. “I honestly did not think you could be tamed in such a way, Samurai Jack.” Her laughter rolled through the air, each note like a boulder slamming into his back. “What a clever little creature you are,” she crooned, gaze fixed on Aku. Something unspoken passed between them.

Aku heaved a great sigh, as if he had put upon to do some unsavoury chore, and pushed Jack away. He crossed the space between himself and Gaia with unsteady steps. She watched him with a cutting smile, but didn’t hurry the encounter. When he stood at her side, she cocked her head. “You will not be able to conceal your thoughts from me for much longer,” she murmured. “What is this plan?”

Aku laughed and even in his weak, human disguise it rang with malevolence. “Did you think you could so easily undo the work of Aku?” He laughed again, and made a sudden gesture with his right hand. “No,” he rumbled as the ground fell out from beneath Jack’s feet. “That is not true.” 

Jack yelped as his body was sucked and squeezed and compressed. He looked up in time to see Gaia swell outside her human form. She towered over the fortress ruins, her body radiating that piercing dread. Her hand closed around Aku’s tiny form. His laughter stopped abruptly. He met Jack’s gaze before collapsing into a featureless black shape that dissolved into Gaia’s palm.


	7. 23 (edited)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks all for your comments. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and review.

He fell for a long time. The air whistled under his back, vast and empty. He shut his eyes and waited for the fatal moment. A shock of water slammed into his spine and shut its jaws over his face with a suddenness that nearly knocked him unconscious. He gagged on the water’s foul taste and swam blindly towards the surface. His heartbeat measured ages instead of seconds, but finally he broke through. Air caressed his face, cold and sour, and after a moment he dared to open his eyes. It stung, but he could see a faint outline of the bank nearby. He swam slowly, weighted down by sodden clothing, and ignored the heaviness building in the air.

“Hear me, Samurai!” Gaia’s voice struck him like a hand. “I will find you even if every god in the sky comes to your aid. You will not withhold Time from me!”

Jack realized he had stopped moving and crawled away from the water. Gaia’s presence overhead threatened to crush all common sense in his mind. He got to his feet and stumbled into darkness, hands tentatively stretched out in front of him. The air became staler, lighter, and his fingers scraped along stone. He walked quietly as the dread behind him thickened. The floor lurched beneath his feet and suddenly light flooded the cavern. He blinked rapidly and looked over his shoulder. Gaia’s great fanged smile sat reflected in the water, but her eyes met his and the weight of it felt like a mountain. Jack whirled and scurried the tunnel, and felt a mix of joy and terror when it began to narrow.

“Run,” Gaia laughed, her voice echoing against his back. “Run run run!” 

The tunnel walls scraped against Jack’s shoulders. He inhaled deeply and ran with his torso twisted at an angle. He glanced at the way he had come, but there was only the faint suggestion of light. The darkness swallowed him again and he was forced to walk blindly. A new chill settled in the air, quite different from the soul-withering dread that Gaia wielded. Jack unsheathed his katana and made sure his back was always close to stone. A sense of vastness flowed across his skin and when he reached for the other side of the tunnel wall it wasn’t there. He had entered another cavern.

“I waited for you.”

Jack went rigid and remained silent. Soft laughter echoed in the darkness, androgynous and resonant.

“You have nothing to fear from me, mortal. I have come to satisfy an old allegiance.”

A pale dot of light appeared, like a shaft of sunlight through mist. It swelled to the size of a fist and revealed the still, perfect features of a woman. Jack glanced over his shoulder.

“You have the advantage.” The woman’s hard eyes flicked upwards. “Your master was clever to bring his foe to this place. Here, the influence of the Forest King remains. Gaia’s powers will be suffocated, her mind filled with ghosts.”

“Who…why are you helping me?” Jack stepped further into the cavern. He briefly studied the room and saw that the walls were not stone but roots that had grown and spiraled into an unending knot. Several shapes jutted out of the ground to the far left. Tree trunks. Bones. He realized this is where Aku’s oldest memory had transpired, where the demon had taken root, pursued his Mother, and whether through the wrath of the gods or his own cunning, had repelled her from the world. Then he had plunged back down to earth, far from his original spawning grounds, and in the path of Jack’s people.

“I am one of the old gods.” The woman turned and walked past the tree stumps. Light flickered over perfectly preserved bones. “And yes, I am the one who confronted you in the forest. I did not trust your master to own up to his past.”

Jack let his katana hang by his side and followed. The air felt viscous and dizzying. A single tree stood intact, as white as a maggot in the surrounding darkness. He shivered and stopped.

“I do not understand,” he confessed. “And I am not a minion of Aku.”

The woman walked right up to the petrified tree and regarded him with a neutral smile. Her features were sharp and pale. “The tree’s roots reach deeply, beyond this world and this time. Gaia’s victory here is absolute, but only here. Only now.” She sighed when he stayed silent. “My kin no longer have the power to defy such forces. The dark one had the power to change time, to reach beneath this world and into another. I am here to make sure you make use of his boon.” She lifted the light in her palm to show the withered branches above. “This place was beautiful once. If you leave now it may be so again.”

Jack swallowed thickly. “This tree is a portal?”

“No. You carry that power. The tree is the road.” She pointed to him chest and something alien flickered underneath his skin. It bubbled up from his skin and flared up his forearm like a black flame. “Touch the tree and imagine where it is you wish to go and it—”

The cavern exploded around them with the force of a volcano. Jack lost time. He opened his eyes and saw the jagged outline of sun and sky. A scream scraped his ears and he sat up in time to see Gaia grasp the woman by the neck and lift her off of her feet. The demon had made herself roughly the size of a man, but her essence folded upon itself like hot steel, and her aura felt more overpowering than ever. Her eyes were riveted by the woman’s face. She was drinking in the pain, he realized, as a man in a desert would drink water. Violently. Joyfully. 

Jack scrabbled for his sword. It sat wedged between the wall and a large slab of rock. He rose to his feet and carefully pulled it out from the rubble. When he faced Gaia she was looking at him without urgency. She tossed the Celtic deity aside and spread her arms.

“Now I am nearly whole.” She smiled that fanged grin so obviously reminiscent of Aku. “I have waited a long time for this moment, Samurai Jack.” She slipped closer without walking, her eyes fixed on his, relishing every moment. “Give that last little sliver to me and I will spare him.” At Jack’s astonished glare she continued. “He is aware of us, of you, and that is his punishment for this trick.” She held out her monstrous hand. “Yield and his pain will end.”

Jack’s eyes flickered to the woman on the floor. Her blue dress shone brilliantly in the light.

“She chose her fate the moment she spoke with you.” Gaia crept closer. “But I am not as capricious as my child. Do as I ask and your death will be clean. I will not bind you to eternal servitude.“ She laughed when he stepped back, but her voice stayed soft. ”Was he so compelling? Will you suffer endlessly in his name?”

Jack shook his head. His gaze hardened and focused. “You will not trick me.”

He raised his sword and aimed a punishing slash across her torso. She made no move to defend herself. He felt his blade catch and nearly twist out of his grip. It was like dragging a spoon through molasses. Her purple-blue flesh parted reluctantly and he drew back panting, shoulders aching. Her wound neatly sealed itself and her aura snapped like thunder. It boomed through his body. He glanced at his hands. They were burned red and waxy. They shook.

Gaia’s laughter was thunderous again. ”Foolish samurai.“ She lunged forward. ”I am the God Eater!“

Years of experience took over. Jack rolled to the left and sprang to his feet, katana ready. He felt a cold power clamp around his wrist. A will that wasn’t his own worked his muscles, and suddenly he teetered off balance. It saved his life. Gaia’s claws whistled through the air where his head had been. He found himself leaning against the tree, its power pricked his back like the tip of a sword. 

”I am angry now,“ Gaia whispered. ”Now Your death will not be so kind.“

Jack looked into her eyes and recalled his father’s words. The childish fantasies of that moment sat in awful contrast to reality. He raised his katana and ignored the pain and fear thrumming through his body. She chuckled at his composure and summoned dense, searing-white spirals of magic in both palms. She moved with inhuman speed. A flash. Then pain. So much pain.

He thought he shouted, but there was no way to be certain. The world was ripped out from under Jack’s feet a second time, but when he fell into darkness it was with finality.

And utter relief.


	8. 23 (original)

He fell for a long time. The air whistled under his back, terrifyingly empty. He shut his eyes and waited for the fatal moment. A shock of water slammed into his spine and shut its jaws over his face with a suddenness that nearly knocked him unconscious. He gagged on the water’s foul taste and swam blindly towards the surface. His heartbeat measured ages instead of seconds, but finally he broke through. Air caressed his face, cold and sour, and after a moment he dared to open his eyes. It stung, but he could see a faint outline of the bank nearby. He swam slowly, weighted down by sodden clothing, and ignored the heaviness building in the air.

“Hear me, Samurai!” Gaia’s voice struck him like a bolt of lightning. “I will find you even if every god in the sky comes to your aid. You will not withhold Time from me!”

Jack realized he had stopped moving and desperately crawled away from the water. Gaia’s presence overhead threatened to crush all common sense in his mind. He got to his feet and stumbled into darkness, hands tentatively stretched out in front of him. The air became staler, lighter, and his fingers abruptly scraped along stone. He walked quietly as the dread behind him thickened. The floor lurched beneath his feet and suddenly light flooded the cavern. He blinked rapidly and looked over his shoulder. Gaia’s great fanged smile sat reflected in the water, but her eyes met his and the weight of it felt like a knee to his gut. Jack whirled and scurried the tunnel, and felt a mix of joy and terror when it began to narrow.

“Run,” Gaia laughed, her voice echoing against his back. “Run run run!” 

The tunnel walls scraped against Jack’s shoulders. He inhaled deeply and ran with his torso twisted at an angle. He glanced at the way he had come, but there was only the faint suggestion of light. The darkness swallowed him again and he was forced to walk blindly. A new chill settled in the air, quite different from the soul-withering dread that Gaia wielded. Jack unsheathed his katana and made sure his back was always close to stone. A sense of vastness flowed across his skin and when he reached for the other side of the tunnel wall it wasn’t there. He had entered another cavern.

“I waited for you.”

Jack went rigid and remained silent. Soft laughter echoed in the darkness, androgynous and distinctly lacking a demonic overtone.

“You have nothing to fear from me, mortal. I have come to satisfy an old allegiance.”

A pale dot of light appeared, like a shaft of sunlight through mist. It swelled to the size of a fist and revealed the still, perfect features of a woman. Jack stood motionless, then glanced over his shoulder.

“You have the advantage.” The woman’s hard eyes flicked upwards. “Your master was clever to bring his foe to this place. Here, the influence of the Forest King remains. Gaia’s powers will be suffocated, her mind filled with ghosts.”

“Who…why are you helping me?” Jack stepped further into the cavern. He briefly studied the room and saw that the walls were not stone but roots that had grown and spiraled into an unending knot. Several shapes jutted out of the ground to the far left. Tree trunks. Bones. He realized this is where Aku’s oldest memory had transpired, where the demon had taken root, pursued his Mother, and whether through the wrath of the gods or his own cunning, had repelled her from the world before plunging back down to earth. Weakness had driven him back beneath the ground, far from his original spawning grounds, and in the path of Jack’s people.

“I am one of the old gods.” The woman turned and walked past the tree stumps. Light flickered over perfectly preserved bones. “And yes, I was the one who confronted you in the forest. I did not trust your master to own up to his past.”

Jack let his katana hang by his side and followed. The air felt viscous and dizzying. A single tree stood intact, as pale and white as a maggot in the surrounding darkness. He shivered and stopped.

“I do not understand,” he confessed. “And I am not a minion of Aku.”

The woman walked right up to the petrified tree and regarded him with a neutral smile. Her features were sharp and pale. “The tree’s roots reach deeply, beyond this world and this time. Gaia’s victory here is absolute, but only here. Only now.” She sighed when he stayed silent. “My kin no longer have the power to defy such forces, mortal. The dark one had the power to change time, to reach beneath this world and into another. I am here to make sure you make use of his boon.” She lifted the light in her palm to show the withered branches above. “This place was beautiful once. If you leave now it may be so again.”

Jack swallowed thickly. “This tree is a portal?”

“No. You carry that power. The tree is the road.” She pointed to him chest and something alien flickered underneath his skin. It bubbled up from his skin and flared up his forearm like a black flame. “Touch the tree and imagine where it is you wish to go and it—”

The cavern exploded around them with the force of a volcano. Jack lost time. He opened his eyes and saw the jagged outline of sun and sky. A scream scraped his ears and he sat up in time to see Gaia grasp the strange woman by the neck and lift her off of her feet. The demon had made herself roughly the size of a man, but her essence folded upon itself like hot steel, and her aura felt more overpowering than ever. Her eyes were riveted by the woman’s face. She was drinking in the pain, he realized, as a man in a desert would drink water. Violently. Joyfully. 

Jack scrabbled for his sword. It sat wedged between the wall and a large slab of rock. He rose to his feet and carefully pulled it out from the rubble. When he faced Gaia she was looking at him without urgency. She tossed the Celtic deity aside and spread her arms.

“And now I am nearly whole.” She smiled that fanged grin so obviously reminiscent of Aku. “I have waited for a long time for this moment, Samurai Jack.” She slipped closer without walking, her eyes fixed on his, relishing every moment. “Give that last little sliver to me and I will spare him.” At Jack’s astonished glare, she continued. “He is aware of us, of you, and that is his punishment for this trick.” She held out her monstrous hand. “Yield and his agony will end.”

Jack’s eyes flickered to the woman on the floor. Her blue dress shone brilliantly in the light.

“She chose her fate the moment she spoke with you.” Gaia crept closer. “Come, Samurai, I am not as capricious as my child. Do as I ask and your death will be clean. I will not bind you to eternal servitude.” She laughed when he stepped back, but her voice was soft, hypnotic. “Was he so clever, so handsome? Will you suffer endlessly in his name?”

Jack swallowed and shook his head. His gaze hardened and focused. “You will not trick me!” He raised his sword and aimed a punishing slash across her torso. She allowed him to do so. He felt his blade catch and nearly twist out of his grip. Her purple-blue flesh parted reluctantly and he drew back panting, shoulders aching. Her wound neatly sealed itself and her aura crackled menacingly. He glanced at his hands, mildly surprised to see they had been scalded. 

Gaia’s laughter was thunderous again. “Foolish samurai.” She lunged forward. “I am the God Eater!”

Years of experience took over. Jack rolled to the left and sprang to his feet, katana ready. He felt the cold, jagged remnant of Aku’s power clamp around his wrist. A will that wasn’t his own worked his muscles, and suddenly he teetered off balance. It saved his life. Gaia’s claws whistled through the air where his head had been. He found himself leaning against the tree, its cold power pricked his back like the tip of a sword. 

“I am angry now,” Gaia whispered. “Your death will not come so cheaply.”

Jack looked into her eyes and recalled his father’s words. The childish fantasies of that moment sat in awful contrast to reality. He raised his katana and ignored the pain and fear thrumming through his body. She chuckled at his composure and summoned dense, white-hot balls of magic in both palms. She moved with inhuman speed. The heat and agony and smell was unbearable. He thought he shouted, but there was no way to be certain.

The world was ripped out from under Jack’s feet a second time, but when he fell into darkness it was with finality.

And utter relief.


End file.
